AFTER three and half years of toil, Port Sorell yesterday opened its own Bendigo Bank community branch.

It has become the 300th branch in Australia and has received more than $17 million in pledges by locals and is already proving how beneficial it will be to the community.

At the opening, the first of the community groups, including Latrobe and Port Sorell Tourism Association, Rubicon Fire Brigade, University of the Third Age, and the Port Sorell School Association, were presented with the first community donations from the bank.

Port Sorell Community Enterprise chairman Jack van Tatenhove said the opening of the branch was extremely important for the community.

"Everyone, to do banking, had to travel to Latrobe or Devonport and it took business out of town," he said.

Addressing the large crowd who attended the opening, Mr van Tatenhove said it would be the board members job to make sure the business continued to grow.

"We will be listening to the community and what they need," he said.

There will be a grant program in place for sporting and service clubs which Mr van Tatenhove said was one of the main attractions of the community branch.

Doug Welch has moved from Ipswich to manage the branch.

He said the response he had seen from the community had been very positive.

"It has been sensational, there has been a real sense of anticipation," he said.

Mr Welch said he was pleased to be making Tasmania his home, and was passionate about community banking.

"Certainly as a branch our aim is to get as much profit as possible because it means more funds to return to the community," he said.

Over the next six-12 months he said he would like to achieve good lines of communication with the community.

"I want to be able to communicate that we do everything the big banks do, but the difference is, it goes back to the community," he said.

The Port Sorell branch will employ Mr Welch as well as two full-time staff and a part-time staff member.

nLocated at Shop 3, 2-4 Club Drive, Port Sorell, the branch will be open Monday to Thursday from 9.30am until 4pm, and Fridays from 9.30am until 5pm and by appointment on Saturdays.